REVIEW: The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee

Title: The Unquiet
Author: Jeannine Garsee -
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Publisher: Bloomsbury's Children's Books
Publication Date: July 17, 2012
Format: Netgalley*, 388 pages
Rating: 4/5

Sixteen-year-old Rinn Jacobs has secrets: One, she’s bipolar. Two, she killed her grandmother.

After a suicide attempt, and now her parents' separation, Rinn and her mom move from California to the rural Ohio town where her mother grew up. Back on her medications and hoping to stay well, Rinn settles into her new home, undaunted by the fact that the previous owner hanged herself in Rinn's bedroom. At school, her classmates believe the school pool is haunted by Annaliese, a girl who drowned there. But when a reckless séance goes awry, and terrible things start happening to her new friends—yet not to her—Rinn is determined to find out why she can’t be "touched" by Annaliese...or if Annaliese even exists.

With the help of Nate Brenner, the hunky “farmer boy” she’s rapidly falling for, Rinn devises a dangerous plan to uncover the truth. Soon reality and fantasy meld into one, till Rinn finds it nearly impossible to tell the difference. When a malevolent force threatens the lives of everyone she cares about--not to mention her own--she can't help wondering: who should she really be afraid of?

Annaliese? Or herself?

My thoughts, feelings & reactions

The beginning of The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee had me hooked and intrigued at the get-go. I couldn’t help but want to know more about the story, about Rinn, about Nate and most importantly, Annalaise. I’ve always been interested in ghost stories and Garsee took the ghost story in The Unquiet and put her own spin and twist that really had me begging for more when I finished the book.


Rinn was one hell of a character! She was so hilarious, loud and had an attitude to match with her blunt, sarcastic and most definitely unforgettable personality. She was the main reason why I came to love this book so much. Rinn was the brightness that brought the book to life. When the dark parts of the book started to unfold, Rinn was the one character in the book that made everything better. She really brought the snark and the humor with her banter with Nate. It was interesting to have a main character be bipolar because I really got to see through her eyes. I learned to understand and sympathize with what she went through and what she had to deal with most of her life. Most importantly, I was able to connect with Rinn. With everything that happened with Rinn in this book, I was surprised and proud that she stayed tough and strong. She didn’t break down. Even better, I saw Rinn grow as a person, a friend, a girlfriend and as a daughter. 

I love that the romance in this book was low key. Rinn and Nate’s relationship developed in a natural way. The best thing was that their romance was prominent enough to get a sense of their chemistry and connection while not overshadowing the actual plot of the story. Despite the amount of romance, there are still plenty of moments between Rinn and Nate that had me swooning for sure. Their love for each other was subtle and sweet. 

The mystery and suspense within this book was always there through all of Rinn’s experiences. They were my favorite parts because while Rinn was questioning her own sanity, I was questioning whether the events were actually happening or not. I felt like I was losing my mind with Rinn. I kept wondering what was true and what was just made up from Rinn’s mind. It was overwhelming but also mind blowing all at once. 


Garsee gave enough information about the tunnel, the pool room and Annaliase at a good pace. Because this book was formatted by dates of Rinn’s every day experiences, the build up, the plot twists, and the truth came out in such a strong manner that it really hit me. I definitely got sucked into Rinn’s story. I liked the fact that Rinn’s past was revealed right away without it being drawn out to the end. While I can’t say that this book was scary, I can say that it’s pretty weird and freaky in the best way and in its own way. 

Overall, The Unquiet had the perfect amount of humor, creepiness and mystery. For me, it was a very enjoyable read and I’m hoping with that crazy ending, there will be more of Rinn!

*Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for allowing me to read this book. 

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